This is the story of a man looking for his way. New York did not satisfy his soul, so he moved to Estonia, with his crazy wife, a kid, and six suitcases. Within 24 hours he found a home and had to learn how to make a fire. It did not satisfy his soul for…

This book is set during the historic year of 2008, when it seemed that both banks and politics were failing, and Americans were waiting for a new president to save them. The collection chronicles these events from above the clouds, in airports, New York, Long Island, Miami, Key West, San Francisco, and Vancouver. The large…

The year was 2003, the country Estonia. Great changes were blowing across this small land perched in the fringes of the north – a vote to join a union of European nations, a blizzard of Western consumerism, a feverish demand for real estate. Bankrolled by Scandinavian moneymen, it promised to draw a sheet over the…

I’m sure that each one of us has an association when it comes to Italy, whether it is Italian football, fashion, or food. One thing is certain – this country doesn’t leave anyone cold. The covers of this book hide my Italy, my ordeals at the immigration office, falling in love with pesto and limoncello,…

Turku International Book Fair presents: „Minu Ugrimugri / My Ugrimugri“ a book that reveals the soul of Finno-Ugric peoples. „My Ugrimugri – unbelievable adventures in the Finno-Ugric World“, a book which was published in 2010, may be called even revolutionary in its own way. It was the first major insight into the Finno-Ugric soul, lifestyle,…

It’s the new edition, with the epilogue and the photos. The author’s adventures and her adaption to life in America continue. Halloween paranoia, Thanksgiving traffic jams, Christmas lists, real estate searches, the ER, a nightclub, Misha from the laundromat, John with his ski cap, Inga with her broom, the mother-in-law with her home decorating ideas,…

It’s the new edition, with the epilogue and photos. What happened to me was what usually happens in fairy tales: I went out into the world and I found myself. I did fall in love too, but love is just a motor. Of course, at first it wasn’t easy. There were failed attempts to get…

Yes, you’re right! I am a fashion designer, but this book isn’t about fashion. Ok, if it is, then only a little. Instead, my book tells the story of how at the age of 38 I discovered that what I had always wanted to do in life didn’t match what I was doing at all,…

A bulky envelope in the mailbox brings an unexpected change to our lives. Our stay in Sweden, where we had moved to avoid Tom’s possible recruitment to the Soviet Army, turns out to be quite brief. We find a new home in Canada that until now has been distant and unfamiliar, more like a country…

“It’s so romantic, it’s so romantic” Some people have told me this book is romantic and maybe it is: a young lost American falls in love with an intriguing Estonian journalist and embarks on a journey that restores his faith in himself and the world. I agree. It is romantic. But it was never easy.…

Kaja, who knew two words in Finnish (terve and guudbai), ended up as a visiting lecturer at the University of Jyväskylä on the invitation of one of their professors. Things snowballed from there, though. The land of a thousand lakes had captured Kaja, and six months turned into X years. “We have all these fixed…

Iceland. This sparsely populated island far out in the Atlantic Ocean is probably the single most exotic location in Europe. Linguistically Iceland is like a refrigerator, where their Nordic language has been preserved in its most primeval form for thousands of years. The nature is also primeval and it is the most common reason why…

A blind possum is walking on the electrical wires like a cat, koalas that look like stuffed toys are munching on eucalyptus in the trees, and fast little geckos are whistling their tunes on the walls of the living room. The streetscape looks like a godless multicultural soup and English can be heard in an…

Where did the Chanel wigs go? Why does an apartment owner in Paris want to see a tenant’s income declaration? What was my closet-sized attic apartment like? Where are the prestigious places to live in Paris? How are models chosen for a show? What is the real Parisienne like? What are the most interesting restaurants…

Mai Loog moved to Thailand 11 years ago. Together with a British boyfriend she met online, they chose this Orient’s land of smiles. Now Mai is single again, but still lives and works in Bangkok. The sensual and exotic surroundings of tropical Thailand have opened her up in a way that many childhood friends in…

She learns right there and then, in the midst of coastal range mountains where eagles fly and brownbears fish for salmon, that her restless soul isn’t necessarily a bad thing. She meets strangers who open their hearts to her, learns to work with hundreds of sled dogs (or is it the other way around?), starts…

I don’t know how would it be possible to live in a country ignoring what is happening there. You do take things into your heart. Sooner or later this country becomes your homeland, too. You will be worrying about how ordinary people are making their ends meet, what kind of education do children receive in…

The book contains a selection of stories about the author’s life in New York published in her weblog and the Estonian media. There are stories about barbeques, weddings, fire escapes, tipping, September 11th, graveyards, amusement parks, weight watching, and much more.